The year saw the CSD take significant steps toward improving the quality of custodial services, the provision of comprehensive services for offender rehabilitation, the responsiveness of offenders to these services, and community support for offender rehabilitation. Work on the alleviation of prison overcrowding is progressing, as the construction of three new institutions began in April. The institutions begin operation in 2010 and will provide capacity for 1,200 inmates. Plans for a more efficient use of existing facilities will alleviate overcrowding in institutions for young female offenders and enhance the allocation of resources in training centers for male offenders. CSD implemented a new phase of its Risks and Needs Assessment and Management Protocol for Offenders in 2007. Improved matching of offender needs to rehabilitative programming is expected to reduce recidivism. Approval was given for an increase of 374 staff members during the year. This included 70 new posts. Cooperation with other penal authorities in the region was enhances with a 4-day Prison Forum held in Hong Kong for prison administrators from two other Chinese jurisdictions for the purpose of exchanging views on vocational training and work for prisoners. Data are provided on male and female prisoners, and the services provided in the various types of Hong Kong's offender facilities are described. The report also describes ways in which CSD operates its facilities and trains staff and inmates in the conservation of resources and environmental protection. Data are provided on the employment of prisoners and the use of inmate labor to produce goods and services for government departments. Appended organization chart and a map showing the locations of CSD headquarters and institutions